About Matthew A
Matthew A Sylva constructed his legal foundations in Hawaii. He earned a J.D. in 2017 from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa William S. Richardson School of Law. He also holds both a B.S. in Plant and Environmental Protection Sciences and a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, awarded in 2014. That blend of scientific study and reporting skills formed a clean-eyed strategy to facts and procedure.
While nevertheless in law program he took on a collection of public-sector externships. In 2015 he spent a summer working with the State of Hawaiʻi Legislature. The next year he served as a law clerk extern for the State of Hawaiʻi Judiciary. He also led Students for Public Outreach and Civic Education (SPOCE) as president in 2016, a position that put him in contact with network groups and civic leaders throughout the islands.
After commencement he moved into public protection. He have become a Deputy Public Defender III at the Office of the Public Defender in 2018. There he handled trial work and pretrial duties, acting in state courts and managing caseloads that required quick legal research and courtroom readiness. The job offered repeated front-line knowledge in criminal proceedings and client advocacy.
In 2022 he opened Akamai Law, LLLC and took at the role of proprietor and lawyer. Running a small company returned him to more individualized client work. He manages legal strategy, documents motions, and advocates for clients at proceedings. The transition to private practice allowed him to mix courtroom experience from public protection with the organizational needs of running a regulation office.
Sylva maintains in good standing with the bar in the State Bar of Hawaii and belongs to the West Hawaii Bar Association, each since 2018. Those memberships keep him related to peers and local practice developments. His undergraduate background in journalism continues to inform how he prepares for court and communicates with clients. The plant and environmental sciences diploma has also influenced his analytical strategy to complicated factual history.
Today he practices from Akamai Law, LLLC on Hawaii Island. He advocates for clients in felony defense and associated matters, bringing trial experience from his years as a public defender to his recent work.
